Void Lords
The Void Lords '''are an older but relatively unknown chapter of loyalist Space Marines of the 9th founding. The Void Lords were originally established and designated as the '''Stellar Wardens '''chapter of Space Marines to combat the notably large "Ironteef" Ork Waaagh! In the Charanos sector, infringing on the borders of the Mechanicus controlled Forge World Ventis and several other systems of note. As the battle progressed, they were forced to destroy their own homeworld to contain the threat of the Orks, and spent more time wandering the sector in what remained of their chapter fleet before happening on an ancient and neglected star fortress ''Arx Dominus''. Upon finding this old station and cleansing the machine spirits inside with the help of Mechanicus Tech-Priests, they found new purpose as the bulwark of the worlds of the sector, fighting both xenos and heretics with the burning will of the lessons they had learned. Chapter History Establishment and the Ironteef Campaign The Void Lords were originally founded as the Stellar Wardens to combat the "Ironteef" Ork Waaagh! In the Charanos sector, infringing on the borders of the Mechanicus controlled forge world Ventis and several other systems of note. Over the course of 3 centuries almost immediately after their establishment, they managed to push the greenskin tide back to the heart of their empire, an abandoned Dark Age of Technology mining asteroid that had been drifting near the southern edge of the sector. It was at this ''"Battle in the Belt"'' that they gained their greatest strategic victory of the campaign, eliminating the greenskins to an Ork before destroying their taint from orbit. The Sin Of Pride Unfortunately in their zeal to purge the alien, they neglected their homeworld. and an Ork-controlled Spacehulk had arrived over Symoria to besiege the planet. The marines returned to defend their world but unfortunately were not quite as fast as they would have preferred due to massive warp storms clouding navigator vision to their home. The population was lost and the Stellar Wardens had no choice but to fire cyclonic torpedoes at the planet. From their greatest victory to their greatest humiliation, the Stellar Wardens turned to the hulk, cleansing it and delivering it as a prize to forge world Ventis. The magos their lauded the Stellar Wardens as heroes, but consigned to their fate, the Wardens returned to their ragged fleet to rebuild and learn from their mistakes, vowing to never allow their humors so far out of alignment again. A Time Of Mourning The Stellar Wardens then took the name Void Lords and painted their armor a deep mourning purple, as without Symoria, the Void was their only domain. And they vowed to master it. The Void Lords roamed the Charanos sector, engaging in minor conflicts with various Xenos races, including the subdued but still dangerous Ironteef Orks, as a crusading chapter for nearly a millennia. The chapter at this time felt lost, and developed their abnormilly stoic and cold demeanor, even for Astartes. Without a homeworld to draw on, the Void Lords were forced to make do with applicants from several worlds they patrolled. But many of these individuals were unsuitable for implantation of gene-seed and other organs, resulting in a net loss in marines over the years. The Chapter was on a decline, both spiritually and physically, until the discovery of a larger Warband of Emperor's Children were found on an abandoned Star-Fort deep in the void. Battle Of The Violet Suns The Void Lord fleet engaged that of the traitors, displaying mastery of void combat they had gained over the Millenium since they were cast adrift. They destroyed several traitor ships and launched boarding torpedos to both the Star-Fort and now disabled Emperor-Class Flagship ''Imperial Legacy''. Facing wave upon wave of traitor Astartes and Slaaneshi daemons, the Void Lords successfully repelled the force arrayed against them. After ensuring the battle was truly won, Navarch Tatius Arquestra made a transmission to Forge World Ventis to call for cleansing of the Star-Fort, as the Crusade-Era station was too valuable to simply purge. His call for aid was accepted, and Mechanicus Tech-Priests arrived en masse to cleanse and purify the machine spirits of the Star-Fort. After most systems that could be understood were brought back online, the Ventis Tech-Priests returned to their home with their debt to the Void Lords paid. The Star-Fort was re-designated "Arx Dominis" and became the new Chapter Monastery of the Void Lords. However, finding new initiates was still a pain the chapter had to bear. Losses of this battle had been high, reducing their number to some scant 300 marines. Other Notable Engagements The Void Lords fought in minor skirmishes and campaigns for many years, being trapped behind the Warp Storms of the reign of blood and acting as a bulwark against the encroaching mass of the enemies of humanity in the galactic southeast. It was over this long period of time that their numbers increased to nearly 600 marines, as losses were not easily replaced. The chapter was not noteworthy until the arrival of Hive Fleet Behemoth in the Ultima Segmentum. They engaged the hostile xenos bio-ships and were in turn boarded on their own ground, losing 3 of their at the time 9 ships to the ravenous horde before being forced to retreat. They gathered again some lightyears west before hearing the call of the Realm of Ultramar, arriving as part of the Imperial Battlefleets sent to reinforce Ultramar itself. They sent all 6 remaining companies and fought harder than they had in millennia, losing their Navarch Remus Tetys to a Hive Tyrant but gaining many honours. 1st Prolucator Valens Achillus was promoted to Navarch and has lead them from that day on. While still below strength, the Void Lords crusaded on, fighting Waaagh! Snagrod after the fall of Rynn's World and attempting to push back Hive fleet Leviathan in several battles. Though their numbers continued to drain, Navarch Achillus led his men to focus on quick-strike tactics and tactical withdrawals. Without this man leading them, the Void Lords may well have perished instead of falling to a chapter strength of fewer than 200 men. However, these massive losses kept them from aiding meaningfully in the skirmishes in the Damocles Gulf and 13th Black Crusade. Rebirth And Redemption It was at the brink that the stars tore open, spilling heretics and daemons across the galaxy. The Void Lords were crippled on the nearly empty Star-Fort ''Arx Dominis ''and were sure to perish without the light of the Astronomicon. But then he came. Roboute Guilliman, bearing Primaris reinforcements in the form of the Indomitus Crusade. Astartes were assigned and the chapter reached a strength they hadn't had since their founding. It would be many more before they were fully accepted by the remaining chapter veterans, but the Void Lords were reinvigorated and sallied forth to once again master the stars. They were last seen at full strength as part of an Imperial coalition heading for the world of Vigilus, ready to cut through the taint of traitors and xenos alike in the name of the Emperor of Mankind. Organisation Though nominally codex-compliant, due to their situation as a void based chapter there has been some divergence. The Chapter Master is known as the Navarch and acts as the commanding officer to the chapter flagship, the Venator Astra. Each company captain is known as a Prolucator and speaks for their company while commanding each other vessel in the fleet in turn. The Navarch and Prolucators have each personally selected a man to act as both an equerry and to command their ship when battle calls for them, similarly to first officers. These men may be mortals who have earned their rank in the Navarch/Prolucator's eyes, failed aspirants, or even former Imperial naval officers. The chapter further diverges with how they mark company colours. All marines wear the standard silver shoulder trim, while companies are marked with a simple gothic number on their left kneepads and right shoulders. Sargents sport black helmets instead of the traditional red, and veterans are marked with silver helmets or helmet stripes instead of white. These adaptations are to better suit their role of boarding action, where bright reds and whites are easy targets in darkened corridors. Chapter Armoury Sagittarii - ' Sagittarii is a master-crafted volkite serpenta built for Astartes and most likely dating back to the Great Crusade. This weapon is highly decorated in a filigree of stars all along its' body. Its muzzle comes to a break that takes the appearance of an eagle's head open and screeching death. This weapon is known to be extremely reliable, only experiencing half a dozen faults in its' most likely over 10 Millennia of service. Traditionally and currently, it is wielded by the Navarch. Wrath Of Arquestra -'' This weapon is a legendary Thunder Hammer whose head is engraved with Void Lords iconography. The weapon was supposedly gifted to Tatius Arquestra after the chapter was renamed by the Archmagos of forge world Ventis. It is currently wielded by the 8th Prolucator Brutus Strages, Lord Executioner. ''Singularity -'' A Combi-Grav of unknown origins, Singularity was found aboard Arx Dominis and cleansed. The colors of this weapon fade in from Void Lord purple to an incredibly deep black along the sides in a radial gradient. It is currently wielded by Veteran Sargent Marcellus Salvus of the 4th Company. In addition to these exemplary weapons, the Void Lords maintain a sizeable stock of boarding shields and make regular use of them in tunnel fighting and boarding actions. Chapter Beliefs The Void Lords are a distant, yet stubborn bunch, who hold personal honour and forward thinking as their highest virtues due to the hardships they've suffered through since their conception as the Stellar Wardens. They do not worship The Emperor as a God, and merely see Him as the best example of Mankind and seek to follow what they know of His will. Mainly by purging all Xenos and Traitor forces they come up against. There can be no quarter for those that stand before the manifest destiny of Mankind. They believe that through righteous duty and unwavering loyalty that they will be awarded the honours deserved for such action and that their dedication and drive is the spearhead of His designs. They are wary, though not distrusting of the alliance between the Ynnari and Roboute Guilliman. To see a son of The Emperor of Mankind openly treating with Xenos scum was more than shock-inducing to the Chapter. Most primaris recruits were viewed with suspicion despite the necessity of the chapter's reinforcement. They were regularly checked by apothecaries and watched for decades before finally allowing them 'into the fold' as it were. Just in case. While others balk at having to work with them, the Void Lords see no problem working with most imperial institutions, having a particular affinity with the nearby Ultramarines of the Realm of Ultramar and the PDF forces of the worlds their forced excursion took them through. The one exception to this may be the Mechanicus forge world Ventis, who has supplied and worked with the Void Lords since before the fall of their homeworld. Traditionally, their most hated enemies are the various Ork infestations that blot this arm of the galaxy and various renegade and traitor warbands who pour out of the tears of unreality to the galactic north. However lately with the appearance of the Tyranid hive fleets, the awakening of the Necron dynasties, and the provocations of the infinitesimal Tau empire, this chapter has no shortage of foes. Notable Void Lords Navarch Tatius Arquestra The first marine to bear the title of Navarch, and the second chapter master of the Void Lords was Tatius Arquestra. He was a fiery man whose pride in his chapter and the Imperium lead him to commit to some of the most daring, but also legendary actions of the chapter's early history. Under Arquestra the Void Lords culture was defined, as it was he who led them to destroy Symoria and led them through the hazy years afterwards until the capture of the Arx Dominis. Arquestra's character grew with the soul of his chapter, and his zeal was tempered into a more tactical approach to command as the centuries progressed. He was lost fighting back a Chaos incursion into the Charanos Sector. Legends say he dies crushing the heart of a bloodthirster with his bare hand. He is remembered as the best and worst of the Void Lords. For it was under Arquestra that their greatest shame occurred, but also that they rose again and served past it. Navarch Valens Aquilus Valens Aquilus is a former Prolucator of the second company and the most recent Navarch of the Void Lords. After Navarch Remus Tetys' sacrifice and blessing, he was elected by his peers to lead them. Aquilus is a more balanced leader than many of his forebears. His method of command is deliberate and piercing, never leaping to a decision too quickly. His methodical approach to war and command is being tested by a galaxy that has changed more over his tenure than at any point in the last 10,000 years. Only time will tell if Aquilus can lead the Void Lords to the glories he believes they so rightly deserve. Brother Remus Tetys Remus Tetys is the predecessor of Valens Aquilus to bear the title Navarch. He was struck down and nearly killed on Ultramar by a hive tyrant of Hive Fleet Behemoth. Luckily, the stubborn man had enough life left to be interred into a dreadnought chassis and has been assigned to the second company. Tetys does not sleep as often as other dreadnoughts and marches for war since the Great Rift has split the galaxy in twain, but also offers his advice and stories to those in command roles, including Navarch Aquilus. Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Imperial Fists Successors Category:Imperium